Japan posted a trade deficit of 180.8 billion yen ($ 1.82 billion) in June, making the 12th consecutive month of loss, due to growing imports and a weaker yen, the Government said on Wednesday.

Overall imports jumped 11.8 per cent to 6.24 trillion yen, making the eighth straight month of year-on-year increases, while exports climbed 7.4 per cent to 6.06 trillion yen for the fourth straight month of rises compared to the same periods last year, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

Imports were marked by growing fossil fuel shipments for thermal power generation following the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

Power companies shut down Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors after the accident, which was triggered by an earthquake and tsunami.

Imports of liquefied natural gas jumped 15.3 per cent from a year earlier to 542.5 billion yen and those of petroleum rose 5.3 per cent to 980.4 billion yen, the ministry said.

The yen’s fall also contributed to the trade deficit, by driving up import costs. Since the end of November, the Japanese currency has lost 19 per cent of its value against the US dollar.

Imports from China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, climbed 14.3 per cent from a year earlier to 1.33 trillion yen, and Japan’s trade deficit with the world’s second-largest economy jumped 90.6 per cent to 246.7 billion yen in June, for the 16th consecutive month of trade loss.

Shipments to the United States grew 14.6 per cent to 1.34 trillion yen with car exports rising 29 per cent and general machinery up 22.8 per cent, while imports also climbed 18.8 per cent to 589.2 billion yen.

Exports to the European Union rose 8.6 per cent to 563.9 billion yen for the first increase in 21 months while imports jumped 16.6 per cent to 611.2 billion yen.

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